Boost Metabolism: Big Breakfast Benefits?

A study has suggested that eating a large breakfast may be better for metabolism than a large dinner.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found that eating a large breakfast compared to a large dinner has a significant impact on metabolism.

The researchers focused on diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), a process that measures how the body uses energy for nutrient absorption, digestion, transport, and storage. DIT is considered a marker of metabolic function.

In the study, participants ate a high-calorie breakfast and a low-calorie dinner in the first round, and then reversed this in the second round. Although the sample size was small (16 men), the results showed that eating a larger portion of calories in the morning was associated with a DIT that was more than twice as high.

The study also found that blood sugar and insulin peaks after eating were less severe after a large breakfast than a large dinner. Additionally, a smaller breakfast was linked to more sugar cravings throughout the day.

"Our results show that a meal eaten for breakfast, regardless of the calorie content, creates twice as high diet-induced thermogenesis as the same meal consumed for dinner," said study author Juliane Richter, M.Sc., Ph.D., of the University of Lübeck.

However, the researchers acknowledge that making breakfast the biggest meal may not be advisable for everyone.

Richter suggests that overweight individuals and healthy people should consume a substantial breakfast rather than a large dinner to minimize body weight and prevent metabolic conditions.

The decision of whether or not to eat breakfast and the size of the meal is ultimately personal. Research findings are conflicting, and with the increasing popularity of time-restricted eating, a large breakfast may not be the ideal way to break a fast.